Monday, December 24, 2007

Twas the night before Christmas, and all through Ranger landThey were all rockin to the beat of the James Dolan band:The banners were hung on the rafters with care,With the hope that the Stanley Cup soon will be there.

Management was nestled all snug in their beds,While visions of dollars danced in their heads.Sather, the Stealth, was busy shopping,For a big moose that could do some popping.

When up in the Blue seats there arose such a clatter,They sent Sean Avery up, to see what was the matter,Away from the bench Renney raced up to the bluesBut when he got there he was clue (less).

With MSG tapping the spree,Along came Sam Rosen and Joe Michelletti,And what to their wondering eyes would appear,Six Ranger defensemen moving to the rear.

With a little old driver who came to the haven,They all knew it was Stan Fischler, The Maven.More rapid than fore checkers his players they came,And he stammered and shouted and called them by name.

Now, Hollweg! now, Drury! now Gomez and Prucha!On, Callahan! on, Betts on, Shanahan and Straka!To the top of the Garden they dare not tarry!For they did not want to miss Dancing Larry!

And then they heard the crowd a rootin,As along came Strudwick and Fedor Tyutin,As they cheered aloud and were turning around,From the rafters came Brian Leetch with a bound.

And his ex-mates, Mike Richter and Adam Graves,You knew it would be tough not to behave.And the youngsters looked at them in awe!Girardi and Staal and Nigel Dawes.

They knew this was the crew who won it in '94,As in came Dubinsky, Mara and Greg Moore!This was the group they would get the most of,They were joined by Orr, Malik and Hossa.

But they all knew it would be no cinch,Even though they had Lundqvist, The Prince.They did not want it to be a drag-ger,So they called on the Man, Jaromir Jagr.

They spoke not a word, they knew of the dangers,But the crowd urged them on, shouting "Let's Go Rangers."And they cheered and they yelled as they were getting a little tight,"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

The Ranger Pundit

I'm Mike Savino, the Ranger Pundit. I have been a NY Rangers fan since the 1937 - 1938 season. The first game I saw in person was in 1943 against the Blackhawks. My biggest disappointment was the '49-50 season and our loss to the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals.